Anxiety, Stress, and Lip/Cheek Biting

SORRY U ALL HAVE THIS BAD HABIT, BUT SO GLAD 2 KNOW IM NOT THE ONLY 1......HELLLP!!! :-|.....IM 36 AND HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THESE THINGS SINCE BOUT 13, ITS REALLY STARTING 2 BOTHER ME.

I feel your pain!! When I read all of your posts it feels like I am talking to myself....it's insane! I have found that when I brush my teeth, it helps to brush the inside of my cheeks and lips, it helps smooth it out and I dont know why but it heals much faster when I do that (must be something in the toothpaste LOL.) Then after doing so, I try chewing gum to keep me from biting so that the sores get time to heal. My problem is that when I dont bite my cheeks and lips I move onto my nails...still cant stop but hope that it can help some of you! Good Luck!!!

:-) I am in the same boat as you all are and I'm truly sorry that we are stuck with this bad habit. I can't remember the first time I started doing this but I do know I was very young. Everyone that knows me well knows of my bad habit, sad to say even the new friends I have. Even worse, it's started the the premature age lines around my mouth and yes it has made me look older. There are times people thinks my husband is my son.xd:-| yes, angry an feeling eh I don't know. All I know is, I don't want to get rid of this bad habit. It's embarrasing when I turn around and someone is giving me the look straight at my mouth like, "what the heck is she doing?" LOL

HELP!!

I knew there were other people who did this, but I didn't know there were so many!! I'm 19 and I can't remember when I started doing this, but its a habbit my sister and I both share and just can't stop. I googles this because early this morning instead of just biting, I actually grabbed and tore out a large piece of skin from my cheek. Now I seriously can't stop, its terrible. Everything everyones described explaines this habbit I have, only I never thought it was from stress. Maybe that what makes me start before my cheeks are unsmooth though. Anyways, I've never tried to stop and I'm wondering if it is all just phycological. If so, I'm going to put all this head strong mentality to use and get rid of this addiction...then maby ill be able to quit smoking too! Haha I wish everyone luck, its not fun. Especially hearing what everyone you know has to say about it.

Oh my goodness! I have had this terrible habit almost my whole life and I seriously thought I was a freak. It made me actually cry when I read some posts on the internet about this problem we all have. I bite my lips, bottom and top, practically all day, every day now and my lips are always red with sores. My mum grabs my hand away from my mouth because I tear away what ever is rough and I can't stop it. My children and husband tell me to stop all the time. I make it bleed everyday and I'm so worried about getting cancer or something.   Once in a while my lips will get so bad that they will get ulcers on them. I almost kind of go into a trance when I'm doing it and its like I don't even realise until they are all recked and bleeding. I totally can stop what I'm doing! When I'm talking on the phone I think that's my worst time so I try to be quick. Is it a form of self harm or OCD..a few post have asked the same question but I haven't found an answer?

I tried hypnosis only a few months ago and I think that made me more aware of when I would do it but we came into some major financial difficulty, soon after, and it started all over again. I think the hypnosis really would have helped but I think you need to keep it up and do some kind of relaxation and/or meditation. I have 3 kids and meditation isn't possible for me. I also use lipstick and carmex all the time...I don't leave home without lots of it. It really just masks the look of my lips and makes them feel better for a few minutes, until I bite that all off. I do have a really thick lip lacquer lipstick from Napoleon that is probably the best one to stop me biting and picking for the longest time as it is thick and sticky...but this will only work for those who wear lipstick.   Anyway it's really nice to know I'm not the only one out there who does this so thank you to all who have made me feel like I'm not alone.

I am 16 and have had this habbit since i was 6 when a really stressful thing occured in my life.. I know im young but ive been reading into these things and i want to stop this as soon while im young. I always bite my cheeks and chew on the inside of my lips and if im not doing that then im constantly moving my foot or picking at my nails or picking at my face, and i can never sit down for a long period of time without being restless or stressed out. i dont know exactly why i do this but i want to try and stop.

Hi am 16 and ive been doing it for years and agree its addictive i cant stop and when i do as soon as loose focus ill start and it is horrible feeling afterwards and am to looking for help on this sorry

hi im 23 and have had all sorts of habit disorders such as head nodding picking my nose so hard that half my face and my eye had swollen shut ive been biting my bottom lip 4 a few years ive bitin my whole lip off so i dont have 1and im still biting 24/7 i cant explain how painful it is its drove me 2 want 2 end my life i dont go out or see any1 i cant deal with the pain all i do is cry and bite all day i only get a break when im asleep and that goes to fast i wish it would go away i didnt no who else to tell but u i hope ur doin better coz i wouldnt wish this on any1 its sounds like ive got the same as u and i really feel 4 u thanks

I wouldn't be worrying so much about the cheek itself and be more worried about your teeth. I've ended up wearing away the enamel of my teeth from doing the exact same thing for the past 20 odd years. It's also caused my jaw muscles to tighten up and has moved the position my teeth fall into when i bite down. The dental treatment to correct this is about £600 in total.


Also, just wondering - anyone else get searing headaches from all the chewing?

Yes, I'm concerned about wearing my front teeth down. Just spent $3,000 on dental work and you would think that alone would help me stop chewing. Also getting premature aging lines under my botton lip and at 60 that's the last thing I want. Well, they're already formed but I want to save my teeth. I chew unconsciously at first and then notice I'm doing it. So I'm trying to tell myself mentally to STOP and I think chewing gum instead will help. Also I don't eat on time and will notice I'm chewing which I think means I need a meal... let's get a grip and defeat this nasty habit...

I was also about 6 when I started doing this. I was living in America with my dad and stepmom. I had a pretty good life but when my mum moved back to Australia where she was born I think that was the start. I'm now 35 and still doing it and the funny thing is that I now also live in Australia with my mum and we are so close but I STILL DO IT! The habit becomes a regular part of your life. You need to get some help so your not doing it for the rest of your life. Hypnosis I think, with continued relaxation methods is a start. I feel for you!!! Good Luck!!

i really cant believe this i am almost to the verge of crying, i thought i was the only one with this problem, but mine started many years ago as well and i think its because i didn't like my lips. so I started folding them in together and nibbling on them while I talk to people sometime, until it became a habit and now i cant stop. I feel exactly the same way i bite them when the new skin tries to grow back, and sometime when i use my medicated lip balm and it seems to be all smooth and nice, it gets this kinda roughness l would say under the lip if you know what i mean, and i would start the process all over again and sometimes things may be going good lip feeling healed and all that, then i get stressed out or really studying something then i start biting on them again. I'm scared

I have those white marks on the spots I chew the most. For me it's scar tissure. Sometimes I chew so much I take the car tissue off and Then when it heals back it gets bigger. I started when I was really young just on my lip. I have stopped biting that (mostly anyway) Now I bite my cheeks. I bite more when my mouth ios dry. Sometimes when I have a drink of water and put lip balm on The earge is less intense.

Thank you for your suggestion, I will run to the Hobby Lobby in my town and buy a glue gun pad. I am 50 years old and had this habit while I was in high school and quit after I graduated. I have returned to this bad habit off and on during my life but I have stress right now in my life and find myself chewing the inside of my mouth almost all of the time. I am also afraid of what it is doing to the inside of my mouth (cancer, teeth, premature wrinkles) I started chewing on plastic toothpicks and find that I don't chew the inside of my mouth, but I'm afraid this is also hurting my teeth, but not only that It doesn't look very professional at my job. :(  Chewing gum for me is out because I have stomach problems and it aggravates it. I to am so glad that I AM NOT ALONE.

I have been biting my cheeks and inside of my lip for years. But recently I've notices myself doing it more. Still not sure how to stop although chewing gum does help but I can't chew gum at work when I chew my cheeks the most. However I have started applying something called Gingigel to the inside of my cheeks as reccomended by my dentist to heal the chewed areas and so far it seams to be working. The hard part is stopping myself when I notice I'm doing it.